This is an open letter to the new chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Dear Mr Leung, Warm greetings as you take over the helm. It's been 15 years since this wonderful city rejoined the motherland and it gives me great pleasure in congratulating your two predecessors, whatever their perceived faults might have been, for keeping the fundamental tenets of a free economy, and especially the rule of law, alive and kicking. It is now your turn to keep the faith and we hope that whatever your political persuasion or policies are, that you will not undermine the fabulous foundation on which this city has flourished, making it one of the few places in the world where you can still make an honest living and still aspire to living the dream. Undoubtedly, the road ahead will be full of challenges - many more of the structural kind. While the political and economic canvas is expected to take most of your time and effort, we ask you not to turn a blind eye to the sporting picture. Both your predecessors showed a lukewarm approach to sports. While not entirely ignoring it, their combined efforts haven't left much of an impression. In fact, we can't remember what Tung Chee-hwa achieved or left behind as a sporting legacy. Donald Tsang Yam-kuen has had more success. His administration will be remembered for putting in place the hardware and software to nurture future generations of athletes. The redeveloped Sports Institute, which when it is completed next year will have cost nearly HK$1.8 billion, and the HK$7 billion athletes development fund put in place last year will ensure elite athletes have the funding and support system to back them for a long time to come. The Tsang administration has also kick-started Project Phoenix, the scheme to breathe life back into a moribund soccer system which one day, hopefully, will see Hong Kong ranked in the world's top 100 countries. All credit to the former administration for these initiatives. But they have fallen short on many other aspects. A half-hearted backing to bid for the 2023 Asian Games and the lack of any substantial progress on the Kai Tak sports hub and a water sports centre are the two biggest disappointments. It is hoped that your administration will see the benefits both these goals will bring to Hong Kong with fresh eyes. They are both interlinked. A 2023 Asian Games cannot take place without a new state-of-the-art stadium and its ancillary support stadia. The existing stadium at So Kon Po is old and tired. Its sub-standard pitch, which has been a problem from day one, continues to attract criticism. The new and bigger stadium with a retractable roof will give Hong Kong its deserved facility, one which can host a Hong Kong Sevens or a Manchester United or a high-profile rock concert. We need this new sports hub - and fast - built in time so Hong Kong can pitch to host a couple of Rugby World Cup matches in 2019, and be ready for a 2023 Asian Games - if we pitch for it. And we must. It should be Hong Kong's coming out party. A party to show the world the one country, two systems formula is well and truly alive. An Asian Games could be the spark to lift our world profile even further. It will be a huge boost to tourism, provide jobs to many, from the construction industry to the hospitality industry, and help rejuvenate the entire city. We believe sport is on your radar and that you have plans to appoint a sports commissioner, or a sports minister, a person who will be responsible for policy as well as for implementing it. This person must be strong enough to make decisions and have the means to implement ideas. At present we have two government-backed funds for sport, the Mega Events Fund and the M-Mark scheme. It would be great if these schemes are expanded and the sports minister or commissioner given the discretion to use the money. And these funds should only be given to target major events - like attracting a Formula One race or an ATP tennis tournament or world championships, from athletics to swimming. We are talking about the kind of money we saw handed out soon after Sars when Hong Kong went into overdrive to rid the city of its diseased image. Your government should have a true mega fund to attract truly mega sporting events. Hong Kong needs to think big. Make this city a sports hub in Asia. With government backing, this can be done. We hope you are the man who can set the ball rolling. Yours sportingly
